By Rachelle Kliger
SOURCE: The Media Line, 8/19/03
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Salama Al-Atrash warmly greets me as I walk into the rickety tent he set up outside the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem. “Where did you say you’re from?” he asks.

“The Media Line. Do you have access to Internet?”

“Internet?” Al-Atrash laughs. “You must be joking! We don’t even have electricity.”

Al-Atrash is one of Israel’s 140,000 Bedouin, Arabs with nomadic roots and traditions. In Israel they are a minority within a minority, 10% of the country’s Arab population.

Al-Atrash, like most Bedouins residing in Israel, is an Israeli citizen. He speaks fluent Hebrew and served in a combat unit in the Israeli army. Yet he does not feel one among equals.

He has been living in this tent, since July 29th, after marching on foot from his home in the Negev Desert to the hilly capital.

Al-Atrash, a freelancer in the food-marketing trade, is currently taking time off work to spearhead a campaign defending Bedouin rights. The campaign is targeting Israel’s policy of demolishing houses in the infamous unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev. Al-Atrash opened the campaign office over a year ago with an acquaintance, Faris Abu ‘Ubeid, as a response to “the situation of the Bedouin society and the continuing discrimination.”

Despite the inevitable blow his business will suffer as a result of his deliberate break, Al-Atrash is thankful he at least has a job. Not all his Bedouin counterparts are that lucky.

The issue of unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel is one the Israeli government would rather do without. Over half of the Negev’s Bedouin live in 45 villages unrecognized by the Israeli government. These villages do not have running water, adequate sewerage, electricity or any other municipal services. The remaining Bedouin are located in seven state-established towns which were given full recognition. In these towns, the largest and best known of which is Rahat, the Bedouin live in brick houses and benefit from all the municipal services they cannot receive in the unrecognized villages.

Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor has drawn up a program known as the Sharon Plan. It intends to turn the six largest unrecognized villages into official recognized towns, in addition to the seven existing ones and in them place all the remaining Bedouin.

However, Al-Atrash claims the method the government is fostering to implement the plan is far from satisfactory, as far as the Bedouin are concerned. The government is already demolishing homes in the unrecognized villages, leaving their residents without a roof. Al-Atrash claims 113 such homes have been demolished since January 2003, and this is the reason he is launching the campaign. “We are demanding an immediate cessation of the demolition of homes, as long as there is no alternative solution acceptable by both the state and the Bedouin society,” says Al-Atrash.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry told The Media Line that as far as demolition of homes is concerned, it is impossible to reach a written agreement because the Bedouins are building illegally and an agreement cannot counter the law.

The Bedouins are frustrated with the conceivers of the Sharon Plan for not consulting the Bedouins themselves on the plan. As a result, the potential transferees have no idea what they are heading for. “We want to play an integral part in drawing the plan,” explains Al-Atrash.

The Media Line spoke to Ya’aqov Katz, adviser to Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Ehud Olmert, on the Bedouin issue. “The planning [of the new recognized villages] is done in complete coordination with representatives of the Bedouin residents,” said Katz. “The claims of Al-Atrash are baseless…the Al-Atrash clan is very divided which is why we are making no progress with them, but I am sure progress will come.”

The Sharon plan aside, the “illegal” Bedouins are not even that happy about moving into the seven existing official Bedouin towns either. “I don’t want to move into one of the existing towns because there is no future in them. The state doesn’t help them to advance,” says Al-Atrash.

A factor to bear in mind when planning a Bedouin community is the unique Bedouin mentality, a consideration some say was overlooked when planning the original official Bedouin towns. Bedouin have a nomadic heritage and an unusual way of life. Their traditions and culture are cherished; their tribal structure is of vital importance. Many Bedouin are traditionally shepherds or farmers, but in a built-up community, this practice becomes virtually impossible.

The delicate tribal structure of Bedouin society is also damaged in an urban area, since people are divided not by blood but by houses, roads and neighborhoods. Tribes that would prefer to live apart due to age-old disputes are suddenly and unnaturally forced to share the same space.

Another custom sadly lost in the transformation of the Bedouin from nomads to city-folk is their famous hospitality.

The role of the woman in Bedouin tradition has also undergone some changes. In the past the Bedouin woman had a traditional maternal and domestic role. The “new” Bedouin woman works outside the house and is exposed to the other world, a situation Bedouin men find hard to come to terms with. Instead of going through such a process gradually, the men find it tough to cope with the rapid change, often bringing about domestic problems. “Suddenly they find themselves leading a tribal life in an urban area,” says Al-Atrash.

The Interior Ministry responded that the government is in fact taking into account the Bedouins’ nomadic way of life and that the new planned communities are of an agricultural/farming character and not urban as they were in the past.

The purpose of the Bedouin campaign Al-Atrash is leading is not just to relate the problems, but also to offer solutions. “What we’re saying is, before relocating these people in towns, there have to be some confidence-building measures. We want the state to allocate for us an industrial zone in which it will invest. The area should have schools, welfare and health institutions. The current situation is that they want to relocate all these people into a town and only then build the infrastructure.”

Al-Atrash stresses an ironic situation in Bedouin society. Social problems such as unemployment, drugs and poor education are more prevalent in the official Bedouin towns than in the unrecognized villages. “There is a deliberate policy of the Israeli government against the Bedouin society,” says Al-Atrash. “The state wishes to oppress the Bedouin society and preserve its low level, even though over 20 percent of Bedouin men serve in the Israeli army.”

Al-Atrash, as well as many of the Bedouin he represents, is bitter towards the Israeli authorities. He sees a clear political motive behind the government’s approach to the sector. “The state claims the Bedouin are conquering the Negev [desert], when in actual fact, the Bedouin are living on just 1% of Negev space, and the Bedouin have a right and lawful claim to the land.”

Faris Abu ‘Ubeid, a well-spoken Bedouin who has taken time off work in the public sector to help with the campaign, has plenty to say about discrimination. “The government’s hidden message to the Bedouin is that they are not citizens with equal rights,” says ‘Ubeid. “The government has established 60 farms managed by [Jewish] individuals. Each farm contains [500 acres] of land and they even get a grant. [Government officials] want to spread as few Jews on as much land possible and as many Bedouin on as little space possible.”

“I claim these new towns are like concentration camps, without any hope” says Al-Atrash. “The Sharon Plan is being forced upon us against our will.”

“So what’s your next step?”

“We’re going to put massive pressure on the minister of interior and the prime minister’s office to change the plan and the home demolitions,” says Al-Atrash.

‘Ubeid says Knesset (Israel’s parliament) members have already approached them expressing support for their cause and assuring the establishment of a lobby in the Knesset to promote it. “We also want to reveal the Sharon Plan to the Israeli public and make them more aware of what’s happening in the Bedouin sector,” says Al-Atrash.

As the afternoon lingers on, acquaintances and passers-by, both Jewish and Arab, hop in and out of the protest tent to hear what its inhabitants are contending. This is not the only protest tent opposite Ariel Sharon’s office near the Knesset. Vicki Knafo, the famous “welfare mother” is silently demonstrating for single-mothers’ rights on one side, another indeterminate group of protestors is blocking the street on the other. Al-Atrash is not worried about lack of attention. If anything, their presence promotes his interests, he says.

Despite the Bedouins' grievance in dealings with the Israeli authorities, they actually place high hopes in Israeli Jews. “We want to make a joint struggle,” says Al-Atrash. He says his campaign has been praised by many Jews who support his cause and are willing to help.

“The Jews can help us in this struggle. We are, after all, Israeli citizens.”

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